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Friday, April 6, 2012

Beet Pickled Eggs

A couple of weeks ago I read about pickled eggs in Laurie Colwin's book, More Home Cooking. Pickled eggs are peeled hard boiled eggs that are placed in a pickling brine for a number of days or weeks. These sounded so good, I thought I would see if I could find a few recipes. That's when I came across beet pickled eggs. Pickling the beets along with the eggs naturally dyes the eggs a brilliant fuchsia. I'm a huge fan of beets, so combing them with eggs made the world I live in a much happier place. The best part is, you don't need any prior experience or knowledge of pickling to make these, just a large jar and a bit of patience. As I looked more into it, I learned that beet pickled eggs originated in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Since this was all new to me, I was eager to give them a try.

These eggs are really wonderful. They will make a stunning presentation as is, or incorporated into an Easter or spring inspired salad, or for deviled eggs. The longer you pickle the eggs, the more brine and color they absorb. After a few days they became striking little beauties, especially when cut in half to expose more color and their vibrant yellow yolks.

BEET
PICKLED EGGS

Adapted
from Simply Recipes

Ingredients:

6 hard
boiled eggs, peeled

1 large
beet, peeled and cut into 1-inch sized pieces

1 cup
beet juice

1 cup
cider vinegar

1 large
shallot or small yellow onion, sliced

2
cloves garlic, sliced

1/3 cup
granulated sugar

5
cardamom pods

3 whole
cloves

1 star
anise pod

6 hard
boiled eggs, peeled

A large
jar with a lid (a ¾ liter jar fits the eggs perfectly- about 25 oz.)

Start
by hard-boiling the eggs. Place the eggs in a medium-sized saucepan and cover
with 2-inches of cold water. Bring just to a boil, cover, and remove from heat.
Let sit for 12 minutes before submerging in a bowl of ice water. Place in the
refrigerator until ready to use.

Bring 1
cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan, then reduce to a simmer. Add the
chopped beet, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and continue to simmer for 15
to 20 minutes, or until a fork easily pierces the beets. Remove from heat and
set aside to cool.

In a
medium saucepan, combine the beet juice (if you're left with less than a cup of
beet juice after simmering, simply add enough water so that it equals 1 cup),
vinegar, shallot, garlic, sugar, and spices. Bring to a boil and reduce to a
simmer. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes or until all the sugar has dissolved
and the onions are translucent. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Once
the brine has cooled, place 3 eggs in the jar. Spoon in some of the onions and
beets. Add the remaining eggs and spoon in the rest of the onions and beets.
Pour in all of the brine. Tightly seal the jar and place in the refrigerator.
Allow the eggs to pickle for 5 to 7 days to reach their optimal color. Keep
refrigerated and use with 1 month.

Yield:
6 pickled eggs, 1 pickled beet

Notes:

Avoid
using a fork to remove the eggs from the brine. Piercing them could cause the
brine to bleed into the yolks and ruin their beautiful presentation. Use your fingers or a spoon instead.